Pyrolysis, a solution for Spent Grain

While the beer brewing and the distillery sectors have significant energy needs, mainly for heating, cooling, and powering equipment, the biomass waste generated by the production process is not being used to its full potential to reduce the sizeable carbon footprint of this industry.

The carbon capture potential of the pyrolysis of spent grain is a powerful tool for the industry to reach its net zero targets.

The industry rejects hundreds of thousands of tonnes of spent grain per year, mostly for use in animal feed, while instead, this could be repurposed into versatile and valuable biochar which would provide a significant leap towards the industry’s net zero target.

The pyrolysis of spent grain at our premises has demonstrated amazing figures:

Spent grain processed per year                                       100k tonnes
Biochar produced per year                                                 22k tonnes
Fossil fuel CO2 saved per year                                            62k tonnes
Carbon credits generated per year                                     55k tonnes
10 barg saturated steam produced per year                      224 GWh

The high energy demands of the industry make it a highly interesting industry to consider for the installation of a PyroCore pyrolysis installation. Net Revenues generated from the energy recovered, the sale of biochar and the value of carbon credits can go up to € 300 per tonne of spent grain !

Considering the revenues on the sale of biochar and the value of the carbon credits the energy is recovered at a cost of € 0.09 per KW/h.

The improved valorisation of these waste streams thus represents significant opportunities for the industry. The adoption of a carbon capture and waste-to-energy pyrolysis solution would therefore represent significant opportunities to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint and fossil fuel spending.